Rarified Rambler

Feature Article from Hemmings Muscle Machines

Here's a very special car you probably haven't seen before. In 1966, American Motors engineers built a little-known hot-rodded Rambler that enjoyed quite a remarkable career. Many people engrossed by AMC history have always felt it probably was the inspiration for the mind-blowing Rebel Machine that debuted as a 1970 model. Funny thing, though: The car was not built by AMC's engineering people in Detroit; it was produced by the company's engineering team in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
A very common misconception is that American Motors Corp. was a Kenosha-based company. Not true. Never was. Although AMC predecessor Nash-Kelvinator did indeed call Kenosha its hometown at one time, by the late 1930s, Nash had moved its headquarters into the handsome Kelvinator building on Plymouth Road on the edge of Detroit, in part justifying its hyphenated, pre-AMC corporate identity. When Nash-Kelvinator morphed into American Motors in 1954, the new company continued to call Detroit its home, although the bulk of automotive manufacturing operations remained in Kenosha, where AMC built Nashes and Hudsons through 1957, Ramblers until 1969, and AMCs clear through the 1987 Eagle. (Before my fellow AMC fans reach for their pens to correct me here, I should note that, technically speaking, the 1988 Eagle wasn't an AMC). Naturally enough, American Motors' main engineering activities took place in Detroit. But the company also maintained an engineering department out at the plant in Wisconsin. And that's where our subject car, a one-of-a-kind 1967 Rambler Rebel, built with straight-line performance fully in mind, was created.
The late Carl Chakmakian, AMC's manager of performance activities from 1966 through 1970, said the car was built in 1966 using a 1967 Rambler Rebel hardtop as its basis. The Rebel was all-new for 1967, but Chakmakian didn't say whether the car was built late during the year using a factory-produced chassis, or if a pre-production model was used. He did say, however that the performance equipment installed on it was pretty special.
So why, then, was this unique hot rod Rambler built in Kenosha rather than Detroit? We don't know for certain today, but it probably was because the Kenosha engineering people were the ones who traditionally took care of production engineering-that is, engineering cars for actual production, whereas the Detroit engineers were mostly involved in designing and developing new product lines. In addition, the Kenosha plant was much closer to AMC's proving grounds in Burlington, Wisconsin.
Initially (and officially), the car was built as a development "project" car for carburetion-testing purposes. But somewhere along the line, someone in AMC decided it should also be used as a test bed for other components-like, say, high-performance parts. At some point, the car was re-equipped with a modified AMC 390-cu.in. V-8, plus a variety of performance goodies. The AMC 390, by the way, did not appear in production cars until 1968, when it debuted in AMC's legendary AMX two-seater.
The Group 19 Option
All of the high-performance candy installed on this Rebel was developed by AMC and, eventually, made available to the public through the parts departments at AMC dealerships. They appeared in AMC catalogs as "Group 19" parts. The special-built Rebel's list of modifications included:
1) 390-cu.in. V-8 with 12.0:1 compression ratio
2) .030 overbore
3) Cross-ram intake manifold
4) Dogleg ports in the cylinder heads
5) Dual Holley four-barrel carburetors
6) Warner T-10 4-speed manual transmission
7) Hurst shifter
8) Detroit Locker rear end fitted with a 5.00:1 final-drive ratio
9) Lakewood certified bellhousing
The cross-ram intake manifold was developed by Vic Edelbrock specifically for AMC Engineering. Chakmakian claimed that the modified 390-cu.in. V-8 was pumping out an estimated 500hp, which would clearly make it one rapid Rambler! Chakmakian said it was "capable of running in the 11-second bracket."
After testing was completed, the car was sold to a man in Wisconsin. The car was considered a legal drag racing car, according to NHRA and AHRA rules and regulations in effect during those years. Chakmakian passed away a few years ago, but in notes he left behind, he stated that the Rebel was first raced at Union Grove, Wisconsin, in either 1968 or 1969. The Rebel was campaigned by Topel's Rambler, a Kenosha, Wisconsin, AMC dealer. It racked up numerous trophies. As you can see, the Rebel drag car was painted in AMC's trademark red, white and blue color scheme, although the color breaks weren't in the same places that you usually see them on other AMC-backed or -developed race cars. Chakmakian also stated that, to the best of his knowledge, the Rebel was last raced during 1975 at Jackson, Milan, and Martin, Michigan. The factory Rebel drag car later resurfaced in 1991 when Chakmakian was asked to help verify and authenticate its history. During the 1990s, it remained in Michigan before its sixth and current owner, Ellis Tripp, bought it in 2003.
Tripp sells tires, ATVs and motorcycles in his hometown of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, but he's been an AMC fanatic since holding a job as a teen-ager at the local AMC dealership. As he puts it, "I worked in that garage, and that cooked it for me. An AMC was my first driving experience; I liked it and it got in my blood. I just wanted to be a little different from everyone else."
Today, he owns several dozen AMC cars, and acknowledges that the Rebel drag car is by far the most unique. It is mainly in its original racing trim, with ceramic-coated headers emptying into barely muffled exhausts. The factory dash is gone, replaced by a sheetmetal panel with aftermarket gauge that has apparently been there for most of the Rebel's existence. Not only was the heater deleted, but the windshield wipers were, as well: There's no provision for a wiper motor, and the wiper holes in the cowling were filled in years ago.
Tripp plans to repaint the car, as a few bubbles are in evidence ahead of the rear wheel openings. He also intends to replace the 5.0:1 final-drive ratio with more road-friendly gearing, since the Rebel is now turning around 3,000 rpm in top gear, at 55 mph.
So, exactly what is the special significance of this Rambler rocket? Tripp says, "Well, I think it's one of a kind, and I believe it's a real piece of AMC history. Yet, in addition to its racing history-which, let's face it, is enough all by itself to make this a valuable car-the Rebel drag car exerted a mighty influence on AMC. Chakmakian said it was the first known "Group 19" 390-cu.in. drag racer built as a factory prototype car. He also called it "...a pre-production example of what AMC would later come out with as the SC/Rambler and, then, the Rebel Machine."
Now, that's pretty special.

This article originally appeared in the November, 2004 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.